The midterm elections: a personal observation #USA #Trump

[First of all, a happy Deepavali to any Hindu readers here.]

As the United States heads into the midterm elections, the rest of the world is grabbing popcorn and settling in for the drama. The Democrats only need to win an additional 24 seats in the House and a measly two seats in the Senate to turn a slim Republican majority into a red bloodbath. But what will happen if they succeed?

Let’s talk Russiagate first. This is my personal speculation, mind, so take what I’m writing with a grain of salt, but I have two words for you: Uranium One. Rosatom is a Russian company and currently one of the largest uranium producers in the world. It got this honour in no small part thanks to a certain Mr and Mrs. William and Hillary Clinton.

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My doubts about #FidelCastro

Fidel Castro died recently at the ripe old age of 90. It seems that all left-leaning commentators must praise the man who defied the might United States for half a century. As I’m somewhat left of Che Guevara it must follow, then, that I do the same. But Fidel Castro isn’t passing the smell test to me and I thought I’d use the second of this month’s blog posts to explain why.

It’s obvious to all who bothered with reading Cuba’s history that the exceedingly corrupt Fulgencio Batista had to replaced. While Batista was the democratically elected President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944, he came back as a US-backed dictator in 1952. Wikipedia says that:

[R]eceiving financial, military, and logistical support from the United States government, Batista suspended the 1940 Constitution and revoked most political liberties, including the right to strike. He then aligned with the wealthiest landowners who owned the largest sugar plantations, and presided over a stagnating economy that widened the gap between rich and poor Cubans.

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